CSN Mid-Atlantic to produce All-Star telecast

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League has announced that Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic will produce the telecast of the 2012 AHL All-Star Classic, set for later this month at historic Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.

The event, with the AHL All-Star Skills Competition set for Sunday, Jan. 29 (3 p.m. ET) and the 2012 AHL All-Star Game to follow on Monday, Jan. 30 (7 p.m. ET), will air live in high-definition on Sportsnet in Canada and on a comprehensive network of television partners in the United States.

Joe Beninati, a former broadcaster for the AHL’s Maine Mariners and Providence Bruins and now the TV voice of the Washington Capitals for the past 18 seasons, will handle play-by-play duties for the All-Star Classic. Alongside him will be analyst Craig Laughlin, former AHL and NHL winger and longtime TV analyst for the Capitals. Rounding out the on-air crew will be former AHL player and coach and current Comcast SportsNet studio analyst Alan May. The television production will be led by Comcast SportsNet’s Emmy Award-winning executive producer Bill Bell.

Sportsnet will carry the AHL All-Star Classic live through all four of its broadcast regions across Canada. The league’s showcase event can also be seen this year on more than 25 regional networks in the United States, including Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, Comcast SportsNet New England, Comcast SportsNet Chicago, Comcast SportsNet Northwest and Comcast SportsNet California as well as The Comcast Network in Philadelphia and Comcast Sports Southeast (CSS); Root Sports in Pittsburgh; Fox Sports Net’s Detroit, Ohio, Midwest, Southwest and Arizona affiliates; America One; and Altitude Sports and Entertainment, which reaches viewers across 10 states in and around the Rocky Mountains.

Time Warner Cable customers in New York, Wisconsin, the Carolinas, Texas and Los Angeles will get to see the AHL All-Star Classic on their local TWC sports channels. Madison Square Garden Network will carry the event for its viewers throughout New York state and in parts of New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, and Florida viewers will be able to catch it on Sun Sports and Bright House Networks. My Network TV in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. (WQMY-TV) will also air the event for fans in northeast Pennsylvania, and NHL Network will air both the Skills Competition and the All-Star Game on a delayed basis to its U.S. viewers.

Fans overseas will be able to watch the 2012 AHL All-Star Classic on ESPN America in northern Europe and the Middle East, and live broadcasts of the event will be streamed worldwide via AHL Live (ahllive.com).

Tickets for the 2012 AHL All-Star Classic – including the 2012 AHL All-Star Skills Competition at 3 p.m. on Sunday, January 29, and the 2012 AHL All-Star Game at 7 p.m. on Monday, January 30 – are on sale now at the Boardwalk Hall box office, all Ticketmaster locations, by calling (800) 736-1420 or at www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets are also available for the Post-Skills Party (January 29, 5:30 p.m.) and the 2012 AHL Hall of Fame Induction & Awards Ceremony (January 30, 11 a.m.) at Caesars Atlantic City.

Now through Jan. 23, fans have the opportunity to vote for the starting lineups for the 2012 AHL All-Star Game by visiting theahl.com or facebook.com/theahl and participating in the 2012 AHL All-Star Classic Fan Balloting presented by Reebok. Voters will be entered to win a grand prize of a team-signed authentic 2012 AHL All-Star jersey, and five more winners will each receive a pair of tickets to the 2012 AHL All-Star Skills Competition and All-Star Game, courtesy of Insurance Office of America.

Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic – the official sports network Washington Capitals – delivers more than 500 live sporting events per year, along with Emmy Award-winning news, analysis and entertainment programming, to more than 4.7 million homes throughout the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia, and parts of West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Delaware. Comcast SportsNet’s digital portfolio, highlighted by CSNwashington.com and CSNbaltimore.com, is the region’s leading source for online sports news and information.

The 2012 AHL All-Star Classic is presented by the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority, Caesars Entertainment, the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority and the American Hockey League. For destination information about Atlantic City, please visit www.atlanticcitynj.com.